Whispers In The Dark
by Spunky Lily
Summary: In a world in the future aware of the magical world, Willow and the reminant Scooby and Fang Gangs, including Dawn, Connor, and Faith, are trying to survive the world and a branch of the Government that is less than tolerant of their abilities.
1. SEA Strikes

**Author's Note:** I know I should be working on _No Words Here, Half & Half_, and _Rinse_, but I couldn't resist this challenge…

**Future-Verse Challenge By Kat**

**Requirements:**  
The future can not be bright. No Association of Slayers, no magical governments, no world tolerant of supernatural entities whatsoever.  
The world must be aware of witches, demons.  
Slayers must be a myth despite their large number.  
A new government branch that was created to eradicate witches, slayers and demons...anything that has some traces of supernatural/magical powers. The branch must be something vaguely familiar to the Initiative.  
One canon character on the enemies' side. Must give reason.  
A secret society of bad slayers.  
A refugee camp/safe haven for all supernatural creatures that is started by Illyria and Lorne.  
**Focus on any characters you like but two of the five characters must be included:**  
Lorne  
Faith  
Connor  
Illyria  
Dawn  
Why them? Because they're all part of the supernatural world and would be considered targets.  
**Bonus:**  
If you include Willow, give her a child with magical abilities under 7.

* * *

**Whispers In The Dark**

**Prologue: SEA Strikes**

_"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. This wasn't it."_

_—Groucho Marx_

* * *

Bethesda, California. It was fifty-two miles away from the Pacific Ocean, most of its citizens not being lavishing in wealth of any sort. It had a bad reputation that remained steadfast with the years. Not exactly the most favorable place to raise a child, but Aleke Hunt called it home.

The sixteen-year-old had years of experience sneaking out on her record, and this night was no different. She approached her destination with a bit of a stride in her steps.

It was perched more or less in the invisible part of town, where those who didn't quite fit in the good (well, as good as it got in Bethesda) or bad side of town thrived. The outside world was barren by nine o'clock with no one with any intentions of bad or good out in the twisted alleyways and cement-paved streets. No druggies, no gangs, no homeless people, not even the simple passerby. In fact, the only sign of life appeared to be in the club she favored crammed between two empty businesses, whose closing times had come nearly six hours before. The club was as strangely placed as an ice rink in Hell.

Armed under the pseudonym of Ivy Walker with her faux I.D., she entered the club, feeling the bass of the music vibrating her body already.

Aleke focused on the environment surrounding her with her dark, gray-green eyes. She was a slim girl, common in Orange County, but didn't flaunt her well-shaped body at all. She was dressed in extremely loose fitting black cargo pants, hiding her anemic-looking legs with the flaw of fresh and yellowing bruises alike on them as well. Her shirt was a plain black, devoid of any designs or any other color, but it looked peculiarly stunning. Aleke didn't always wear black, but it was the color of her mood today. Her hair was long and tousled, a dyed blue color with bangs that were overgrown and constantly getting in her eyes, like right now. It was frustrating sometimes, but still, she took a liking to them.

Her fingers touched various places in her outfit, making sure her knifes and stakes and spring-loaded blades were in place if the need be. Another person approached her as soon as she finished her inspection. "Diana Osbourne," Aleke greeted, though it was neither friendly nor hostile.

Diana Osbourne was a clearly adult woman, in her mid-fifties, with graying brown hair tied into a tight bun.

"Aleke Hunt," Diana returned, holding out a hand, but not seeming surprised when no one shook it. "Quite an impressive record, especially for a Slayer of your age." She noted with a slight smile. Aleke didn't smile back. All this was going to end with was a bounty offer. "Highly ranked in the elite gang of Frozen Skies," she continued. "Very impressive, indeed." She unsheathed a revolver, along with twelve others circling her. A few of the patrons of the bar screamed.

If someone was standing outside of the bar, they would've thought that a small explosion had occurred within. But all of the guns had fired at once, before the young Slayer had even drawn a weapon.

"Government business," Diana called to the customers. "Go back to your drinks." They obeyed, preferring not to go into such grim business. Ever since the 'lurks', vampire-like demonic creatures, had exposed themselves, along with other species, the Government's elite FBI and CIA agencies were on their toes. So, six years ago to the day, the Government founded the not-so-secret organization known as SEA, or Supernatural Eradiation Agency, of which Director Osbourne was the head.

She grinned at the sight of the Slayer's dead body. "Soon, you'll all be rid of, this I promise you."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, if you want more, review please! I'm in the middle of three fics, and reviews always help!

**P.S.:** The story _will_ fulfill the requirements, but some won't be right away


	2. Earth Heart

**Disclaimer:** Plot belongs to Kat, aka kitty-kat12, canon characters belong to Joss, and Loki, Evelyn, Aleke, Diana, and Cealyn are officially mine! Yay-ness!

**Author's Note:** Aleke is pronounced "Ah-LEE-kee"

* * *

**Whispers In The Dark**

**Chapter One: Earth Heart**

_"Wanna tell the kids they'll never know _

_How much I love to see them smile…"_

_—Yellowcard_

* * *

A sunny day was so rare and so coveted by Cealyn. She envied the children who were normal, the ones with no mystical heritage, no supernatural involvement, or, as she commonly worded it, 'normal'. But today was special.

She watched, mesmerized by a simple violet peaking from the short, blunt stalks of grass, dew still coating the world, sparkling in the early morning light. It had been so long since she'd been outside in the sunlight, and she was thoroughly enjoying every minute of lying in the most earthly beautiful place Cealyn had seen.

Most of the park was wild and overgrown, cines of ivy crawling up the oaks and pines, violets, daisies, and dark red, almost black, roses taking control of the place. Peony bushes dotted the park, among abandoned swing sets and teeter-totters.

And here the six-year-old gazed in wonder as she lay on her stomach, her mother, Willow, her aunt Dawn, and uncle Connor not too far away.

Cealyn's auburn hair was a shade too dark to look natural, but indeed it was, and it stood out against near deathly pale skin. It evidently hadn't seen the sun too many times. That was the cause of days slept in rooms with windows blocked by blackout curtains, and nights spent traveling and learning from what she knew as her family.

Connor approached Cealyn; causing her to rise from her spot, "Is it time to go already?" he sensed the disappointment in the child's voice.

"No." She smiled as he took her tiny hand, leading her through the unused park. Leafy green vines draped from upper pole of the swing set, in which the pair sat. Connor inevitably had a soft spot for the child, and grew to love her as if she was his own. He suddenly scooped up a handful of earth and studied it. "Ceal," he began, using her commonly used nickname. "Did you know that when you lie down on the land, you can feel its heart beating?"

"No," Cealyn answered, using a tone mirroring Connor's as he had said it. "I want to feel it." She whispered, getting off of the swing with him.

He took her hand again, leading her to a rather grassy place nearer to Dawn and Willow, and lay on his stomach, motioning her to lay down, too. Cealyn smoothed her already dirty jeans and knelt down. Then, like a caterpillar, she slowly inched flat next to him, their eyes focused on each other. The warm sun pressed on one of her cheeks, and the cool, wet earth against the other.

The singular sound of her giggles filled the air.

"Shhh," Connor urged gently, and she swallowed her laughter.

Cealyn waited and remained silent, watching Connor's striking, usually brooding blue eyes.

Then she felt it. A soft thumping at first, then stronger. A resounding thud against her petite body. She loved it.

And after what seemed like forever, another hand touched hers, and Cealyn rose.

"I'm sorry, Ceal," Her mother apologized sincerely. "We better get going."

* * *

"Loki!"

Loki Jeshickah Allodola growled a rather unflattering expletive under her breath. She hated being interrupted while she was in meditation; she was trying to concentrate, and concentration required silence. Aloud, she threatened, "This better be good, Evelyn."

"Unfortunately, it isn't. I've received word and conclusive evidence that Aleke was killed last night. By SEA. She died at the gun of Diana Osbourne herself." The young Slayer, Evelyn, said this all in one breath.

Loki, who had been sitting, was now standing, fists clenched. "Leave," she muttered incoherently. Evelyn obeyed. She was one who did not enjoy her leader's company when she was in a bad mood.

As soon as the door had closed, the only piece of furniture in the room, a simple wooden dinner table chair, was thrown and lodged into one of the white walls.

It was one of Loki's many flaws, but this one stood out the most; a fierce, fiery temper. Combined with her Slayer powers, it was rather devastating. She learned with the years on how to keep reserved, but in a situation like this, Loki had no control. Aleke really was large loss, her being one of the best of the best of her team of assassins and bounty hunters. And Diana killed her!

Loki had no stronger desire than to chop that damn woman's head off. Many, if not all, of her Slayers had the same wish. Diana was responsible for all of the thousands of deaths of demons, witches, Slayers, and other mystical beings, quite a few of those being Loki's friends and family.

That was why she was one of the original members of Frozen Sky, an organization devoted to Slayers, where they were housed here, in Frozen Cloud, as it was called, and taken care of, as long as you were willing to be hired for assassinating a SEA agent (among others) or two.

Loki was their leader. She took over after the original founder, her idol, had taken the gristly fate that most Slayers received.

And the founder's name was forever in the mind of every girl in Frozen Cloud.

Buffy Summers.

* * *

DING. DING. DING. DING.

Faith was still in just her underwear and an oversized t-shirt as she reluctantly answered the door, surprised that Dawn, Connor, Willow, and… well, she was sure who the young girl was, but she didn't have a name to go with the face.

"Sorry," Dawn spoke first. "You have a really cool doorbell."

"Uh—can we stay with you for a day or so?" Willow asked uncertainly.

"Uh…" Faith yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Sure…"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ah! Another evilly short chapter, I know. I promise they'll get longer, but this is all my muse had to offer, at the moment. 


	3. No Bad Guy

**Whispers In The Dark**

**Chapter Two: No Bad Guy**

_"Never was and never will be _

_You don't know how you've betrayed me_

_And somehow you've got everybody fooled…"_

_—Evanescence _

* * *

Her job sucked.

That's mostly what she thought everyday, when she wasn't thinking about ways to further please Diana than she already did. Whether it was getting coffee for Diana from the Starbucks down the street, or assassinating some supernatural person personally, the lengths she went to _not_ get fired were amazing. Andrea lightly knocked on the door to the dark room, slightly cringing at the deafening sound of a young girl's scream. 

She quickly ran a hand through her straightened brown hair, glancing down at her attire quickly, making sure there were no stains--she didn't want to get on Diana's bad side by something as petty as that.

_Perfect._ she thought, tearing her eyes away from her outfit, which was a leather skirt that ended just above her knee, and tight, sheer white t-shirt, with a very obvious black bra showing through the thin designer material. Wrapped around her waist was a white scarf, accenting her unbelievably thin waist even more. On her feet, she wore black boots, which reached just below her knee.She clutched a file tightly in her right hand, something she had been told to give Diana, since she was Diana's personal assistant. _Remember. Act calm, and don't speak much unless spoken to._ she thought to herself, remembering what one of the people had told her very bluntly before, when she had applied for the job that 'a million girls would die for' only earlier that month. She hadn't had much interaction with Diana just yet, but from what she'd gathered, Diana was one of the most feared people in society. "Andrea, I need you to call Mr. Burton about Diana's meeting with him, on Friday." or rather, _"Ahn-Dreh-Ah, I need you to cahll Mr. Buhr-Toun about Di-ahna's meeting with him on Friday."_ The head of some department said with her thick British accent as she passed Andrea, not doing so much as glancing at Andrea. "Yeah, I'll do it after I give this to Diana." Andrea replied as the woman walked away. "Yeah...if you even care." Andrea added, her voice barely above a whisper. 

Another shriek emitted from the room, and a frightening, morbid silence sunk in, until Ms. Osbourne herself opened the door, only to see Andrea.

As Diana exited the room, Andrea took a deep breath and put on a huge smile.

"Excuse me, Ms. Osbourne?" she asked quietly, holding the file tightly in her right hand, which was hanging limply at her side. _Good. That was a good start._ she thought, proud of herself. "I, um, have these--these files for you, and since they're for you, I thought I should give them..." _Stop talking already!_

__  
"...to you." she finished lamely, kicking herself for babbling, just when she had told herself not to.

Diana suddenly gave a slightly annoyed glance, mostly hidden by a façade of happiness from her exhilarating kills from last night and only a few seconds previously. She took the files, eyeing them curiously.

"What are they?" it, for once, didn't sound rude. It sounded sincere. 

Andrea gave a smile, pointing to one.

"Well, this is about, um, Buffy Summers, it has a few tabs on her, and information about her and her past, the people that help her--I found a very interesting piece of information, actually. In...this file..." she pointed to a second file. "I found some interesting information... Buffy… she wasn't always a lone Slayer. She had friends, confides, who helped her in her murdering. And they're alive, most of them, anyway, despite our efforts." _This isn't half bad._ she thought, pleased with herself. 

She eyed the file again, opening it, "_The_ Angelus?" Diana repeated, laughing. "Buffy and… Angelus? And, ah… Xander Harris." She smiled wickedly. "He was associated with the Slayer?" she fingered one of the pages, the bemused expression from her face disappearing. "Willow and Cealyn Osbourne…" she spoke her own surname with poisonous disgust. _What am I thinking? There are thousands of Osbournes out there…_

"The one and only. He was granted his humanity after a huge battle--it was said he signed it away, but it was granted anyway, because of all the atonement he'd done.

He has had a soul since the early 1900's, only losing it twice before he was granted humanity." Andrea recited, having memorized everything she could about Buffy and her friends. "Someone spotted them around a small town near Los Angeles a few days ago--I doubt they've left yet." She added, ignoring the part about Willow and Cealyn. 

"Yes… well, what are we waiting for? Send a team of field agents down there!" Diana smiled. "I want the child, though. The girl. Alive. Unspoiled. And Andrea? Be a dear, and get Alexander Harris to my office."

Andrea jumped slightly, though she nodded. "Yes...yes, of course...what should we--do you want _all _of them dead? Even the humans?" she asked, hoping it wouldn't be dubbed as a stupid question.

"Yes," she replied coldly, with a tone that shivers down Andrea's spine. "Weren't you listening, you fool—on second thought… no." she sighed, looking over the papers. "No. We wait. I admit I do not have the patience of a saint, but—we wait."

"Uh—why?"

_Andrea, you dumbass!_

"DON'T QUESTION MY JUDGEMENT!" Diana shouted, her lack of patience showing. "Now," she said, her tone softer as Andrea continued to shrink in her place. "Make that call to Mr. Harris, Andrea."

"R-R-Right on it, ma'am."

* * *

_The moon was full. Its soft creamy white disc of a shape anchored above the man's head, gentle beams of moonlight flooding through the branches from overhead, causing the frost skirting the edges of leaves to sparkle. The solitary figure crouched under bushes and branches, slowly creeping toward his destination; a river, the mighty Hudson to be exact. The wide flow of rushing water created a perfect ambience in the clear, crisp full moon of October. And, as the man suspected, a meeting place for werewolves. They had formed a pack, meeting at the very place he was studying closely from the underbrush. The pack creates were dangerous, destroying property, killing humans, domesticated animals, and wildlife alike. And if, by chance, they mated, the destruction would only grow. That was why the new SEA agent was sent here._

_He took the revolver, throwing, and hunting knifes from their respective sheaths, pointing at the center of the broad meeting place, where there was a jagged, sparking purple rock jutting from the granite. And for a while, he remained in the same position, though his hands grew shaky from the cold and the forces of gravity pressing in on him._

_Until, finally, it came._

_Its shaggy, brown fur glistening in the moonlight, the creature emerged from the forest. It was the classic image of the werewolf Hollywood first produced. It was a savage monster; ounces of salvia dangling from rapier-sharp teeth, dark yellow eyes, shaggy hair covering its body, with humanoid digits, though their nails were replaced with claws. It walked in a hunch, currently looking more like an ape than a wolf._

_He loaded the gun, and the wolf's ears perked up at the familiar sound. It howled in warning, and darted away quickly. But not fast enough._

_BANG!_

_The wolf's injury was sustained on its left shoulder, and it fell onto the ground, with more blood spewing out of the wound than one would expect. It was a silver bullet, after all. Since the injury wasn't fatal, the bullet's powers on werewolves would be. The man smiled in satisfaction. He'd killed their leader, and the wolves would become disoriented and separate. That was the plan, and it appeared to work. Other SEA agents were waiting at different points along the Hudson, awaiting the monsters' arrival with arsenals of silver bullet-loaded rifles, revolvers, and other assorted guns._

_"Bingo." The man said into the headset. "Alpha werewolf down, I repeat, alpha down." He appeared from the bushes to the wolf's side. He hated the damn things, but not nearly as much as vampires. But, the look in the dying creature's eyes looked almost human, and for five seconds, he sympathized with it._

Make it go away, _the thing's eyes seemed to say, _make the pain stop. _And so he did. Without haste, he stabbed the creature in its heart, or lack thereof, killing it instantly. Like the vampires._

_But—and this was the part he loathed most—the monster turned into its human form. Once the agent's eyes caught it, he backed away, his eyes wide, his breathing mere pants._

_And for a moment, the agent was Xander Harris again. And the man on the ground, bleeding and dead, was Oz._

_He turned off the headset to sob. Why Oz? He'd _murdered_ his friend…_

_It was considered an offence to the Greek gods to say that it could not get any worse. Well, the gods had certainly taken offence._

_"OZ! OZ! Where are you? Oz?"_

_Xander wanted to scream as he saw his best friend—a girl he hadn't seen in months—transpire from the woods. Willow Rosenberg. Red hair and all. But Xander didn't scream. Willow's loud one was enough._

_"Willow, it—it's… it's not what you think…" he lied; it was exactly what she was thinking. He was a murderer._

_"YES IT IS!" his once shy friend confirmed through fits of sobs. Only then did Xander realize something._

_A bulge in Willow's stomach._

_She was pregnant._

"Assistant Director? Assistant Director Harris?" his secretary shook him thoroughly. "Sir, you have a call on line one. It—It's Diana, sir."

Xander was aroused by the name of his boss. "Uh—I'll get it…" he picked up the phone, still shaken by his nightmare. "What's going on?" he asked into the phone.

"I've business to discuss with you, A.D. Harris."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, Kat reqested it, so that's the new update. I hope you liked it. You know, Xander may not be Willow/Dawn/Connor/Cealyn's only betraying buddy…__


	4. Invasion

**Whispers In the Dark**

**Chapter Three: Invasion**

_"Sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute."_

_—Professor X, X-Men_

* * *

"Freeze, Mommy!" the little redhead called from the hallway, sprawled on her stomach with her hands clasped together in the shape of a revolver. Willow cocked an eyebrow, sauntering along into the corridor with her Freudian slippers and pajamas. "Bang bang!" Cealyn added the sound effects, smirking.

Faith rolled out onto the carpet from a nearby room, "Red, that means you're supposed to die," the brunette Slayer whispered loudly, pretending to make it a secret to Cealyn.

"O-Oh!" Willow paused, then grasped her chest and collapsed to the floor. The red-haired woman wasn't too keen on acting, so it wasn't as dramatic as the Cealyn anticipated. After a few moments of stillness, the little girl crawled over to her mother, shaking her gently.

"Little Red," Faith advised, "This is 'no mercy, man' part."

"Right," Cealyn smiled coyly. "No mercy, man!" she yelled, which wasn't saying much, but it was worth a try, and reshaped her hands into the gun mold once more.

"I should've known," Willow performed, pretending to die with slightly more accuracy. "Cealyn is the best…"

"Bang bang!" the girl shrieked on cue, and Willow closed her eyes, letting her tongue roll out of her mouth. Cealyn gently stirred her mother. "Mommy, it's just pretend. You can stop now."

Willow opened her hazel green eyes, "I know, baby." She sat up. "So, Faith, you've been teaching my child the value of shooting stuff?" Cealyn crept onto her mother's lap.

"She found my _Alias_ episodes," Faith shot a grin, then shrugged. "Didn't get much of the CIA stuff, but she did enjoy the good ole violence."

"I really wasn't much into that stuff… but, hey…" Willow trailed off, staring at the ground. "… Miss Osbourne," she interrupted herself, addressing her daughter formally, lapsing into 'pretend'. "You up this late! Ludicrous!"

Cealyn's face twisted from trying to hold her giggles in. "But, _Mrs._ Osbourne, I am a young lady, and ladies can stay up as late as they want—" she suspended. "S-Sydney does! And—so do Blossom, Bubbles, _and_ Buttercup!"

"Well, Sydney is up late 'cause she's working—and stuff… and do you really wanna do something _that _crazy?" she asked, standing up with Cealyn propped up against her body. "And—the Powerpuff Girls are saving the world _before_ bedtime, not after."

"But—you save the world sometimes," her voice clearly was in full-on protest mode. "Why not me?"

"Because you will someday, I promise," Willow smiled softly. "But now, you're my little Pumpkinpooska."

Cealyn returned the shy smile, no energy left to say much more. She rested her head on her mother's shoulder as she was taken to her temporary room. After a few minutes of tucking in and the stroking of hair, Willow reappeared in the hallway.

"So, Red, what's up with you and Dawn and Connor these days?" Faith inquired, sitting up and leaning against the plaster wall. "You didn't really do much in the way of explaining."

"In all honesty… we're big with the running, since Buffy died," Willow sighed, tentatively staring at the ground. "It's been super bad."

Faith shook her head, seeming to be disappointed. "Buff—man, what happened with her? I thought I was the 'dark Slayer', but mercenaries…"

"… I know. She was—it was stupid. She said it was the only thing they could do now…" she curled into a fetal position, growing uncomfortable discussing the matter.

"And—what about Xander? What ever happened to him?"

Willow shot Faith a look that would've been identical to one given to a person who had said that Diana Osbourne was Mary Poppins. "Xander?" she repeated her voice hostile, then turning deflated. She held up a hand to her forehead. "He—is with the bad guys…"

"Oh." Faith became uncharacteristically hesitant. A beam of light shone brightly from the end of the hallway, through an unkempt, filthy window. A loud, threatening noise of fluttering helicopters was easily distinguishable through the walls. "Go get Little Red," Faith commanded, getting up. "I'll get the love birds."

Reassembled in the basement, the group stared from window to window, watching the lights dance across the cement floor.

"Any bright ideas?" Connor asked Faith harshly.

Faith grinned. "You'd be surprised."

* * *

"Jes?"

Thousands of miles away, the director of Frozen Sky aroused to a similar situation. She grumbled impulsively, running her fingers through her frumpy, frizzed hair. "What?" Jeshickah snapped to Evelyn, who tentatively backed away.

"Jes, they've found us," said Evelyn hastily, also still in pajamas and bedhead.

Jeshickah shot up from her bed. "Get Merrick, and go."

"W-What?"

"You heard me, get Merrick," her expression attained a rare, softer quality. "Don't worry about me, I'll make it out. All that matters is Mehr."

Evelyn nodded, scurrying off into one adjacent passage. The whole of Frozen Cloud was a giant indoor Labyrinth. It would be quite a miracle if even the Government, in all of its power, captured _everyone_, with all of the confusion the winding routes. Despite this sudden surge of confidence, she couldn't help but fear when she looked to the towering ceiling, sprawled with stain glass windows, and seeing the light from helicopters filtering through the colored glass.

_Left, right, right, left, _Evelyn memorized. _There. _She came to a large pair of doors with twin dragons as knockers, but paid them no mind as she rapidly ran in. She hurried to the corner, where an infant slept, undisturbed and oblivious to all the danger that surrounded him. He was nearly a toddler; Merrick was, with a large growth of dark hair and bright green eyes, currently closed in a dreamy sleep. She lifted him from the small bed, whispering, "It'll be okay, little Merrick… little Merrick Summers…"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Just to do some more coverings of my ass, _Alias _doesn't belong to me, either Anyway—

Sorry, sorry, sorry for such a long period between updates. Now _Can't Come Home_ and this story are going to have my full attention for the time being, so expect an update for them soon.


End file.
